On November 14th of each year the world celebrates World Diabetes Day, in an international campaign to raise awareness about diabetes.

Each year, the campaign explores one main theme related to diabetes, with this year’s theme being Women and Diabetes - Our Right to a Healthy Future. The campaign aims to promote affordable and equitable access to the essential diabetes medicine and technology, for all women at risk or suffering from the disease.

Around 8% of women, or 205 million women, live with diabetes worldwide, over half of whom are in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the ninth leading cause of death for women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths per year.

WHO stressed the need for women to be provided with easy and equitable access to knowledge and resources to strengthen their capacity to prevent type 2 diabetes in their families, and to better safeguard their own health.

Diabetes has two types: Type 1 which is not preventable but could be treated with insulin, and type 2 which could be largely preventable and treatable through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.

In general, diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and lower limb amputation. Healthy diet, physical activity and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.

World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 the International Diabetes Foundation and WHO, in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes.